A/N: Okay, normally I make you guys wait at least a full 24 hours at least before posting a new chapter, but this is an exception. I just had to get this out because it's one of my most favorite scenes. Thank you so much to everyone who favorites and reviews this story. You guys seriously keep me going. Disclaimer: I sadly don't own the Avengers yet. If I did, you could bet Sam would be in the next movie. Seriously Marvel, I'm willing to share MY RIGHTS to Sam if you want her. Just saying.
Sam headed straight up to the kitchen that morning instead of going to the gym. She felt like she was chickening out, but she didn't know exactly what happened between her and Steve last night. Therefore, she went to the kitchen around seven and started making cinnamon rolls from scratch. The action kept her preoccupied enough to not worry about what had happened, although as she was measuring out the flour she smiled as she remembered the flour fight she had with Steve.
Steve headed in to the gym a little late that morning. He noticed Sam wasn't there. It was odd, considering she normally got here on time every morning to work out, but it wasn't like she had set plans. He thought back to last night, and how he had missed his chance. He wondered what Sam had thought of it. Shaking his head, he attacked the punching bag with renewed force. It was useless to worry over it.
Natasha was one of the first people up into the kitchen and she smelled the cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. "Oh my god, that smells amazing."
"Thank you. They're almost done," Sam said as she made the icing for them.
"I thought you would be in the gym this morning," Natasha commented as she took a seat at the table and watched her work.
"Oh, I just woke up and had a really bad craving for cinnamon rolls, so I figured I would just come up here and make them early," Sam said. She tried to sound casual about it, but she had hesitated a moment too long. Natasha digested this. From what she had seen last night, the two had had a good time dancing together, but then had avoided each other since then. She wondered who had done what.
Any further conversation was cut off as Sam started the mixer, which was thankfully loud enough that it kept Natasha from continuing to speak. She may have overbeat the frosting, but she didn't stop until Pepper, Clint, and Bruce were all in the room. She figured it was safe enough then. The others eyed her curiously, so she made sure to put on a cheery smile as she pulled the cinnamon rolls out of the oven and started to ice them.
Steve walked in to the kitchen just as the cinnamon rolls were deemed cool enough to start eating. He took a seat between Bruce and Pepper before it could be taken and helped himself to a roll as everyone else did. Tony entered the kitchen and was his usual grouchy self until he got his coffee.
The rest of the day Sam spent hiding down in the lab with Bruce. Or rather, running tests. Bruce was curious about what exactly was in Sam's blood. He noticed her wince as he took a sample of her blood with a syringe. "Are you alright," He asked.
"Yep. Just not too fond of needles," Sam said while looking at the ceiling. "You can shoot at me, try to blow me up, throw a machete at my face. The second you come at me with a needle it gets personal."
Bruce just chuckled a little. "Who would throw a machete?"
"The better question is why they thought it was a valid weapon to use against me," She said.
The rest of the time was spent with Bruce running all sorts of tests and Sam using her high school education level of science to identify various pieces of equipment. Science wasn't her favorite subject, but she had gotten an A in all of her classes and liked physics.
Steve spent his day in a similar fashion of avoiding other team members. He actually went so far as to leave the tower. Natasha had been giving him looks throughout breakfast, and he was sure he didn't want to know why. He roamed the streets of New York City, not having anywhere in particular in mind until he had to eventually return for dinner.
Dinner passed by in its normal course, and if there was any awkwardness between either Steve or Sam it was not acknowledged. Natasha, of course, was beyond frustrated that all of her work with Pepper was going to be ignored because they were acting like idiots. She was determined to make them talk to each other. At this point it was just annoying her.
"You talk a good game, Stark," Natasha said as she interrupted him going on about his 'vast intellect' as he put it, "but I'd like to see you beat me where it really counts: trivia."
He stared at her. "I'm sorry, was that supposed to be a challenge? I don't feel remotely intimidated." With the gauntlet thrown down, the team went into the living room once again and crowded around the coffee table as Pepper brought out Trivial Pursuit.
"Science bros," Tony called out as he sat next to Bruce. "Sorry Pepper."
"You're way too old to use the term 'bros'," Sam said. "It's not even cool after hearing you say it."
"Word to all my homies," Tony said while trying to throw up a gang symbol.
"Oh God. Please don't ever do that again," Sam said. While this was going on Natasha took a seat next to Clint, claiming him as her partner.
"I'll read off all of the questions and keep Tony from cheating," Pepper said while giving Tony a look. That just left Sam and Steve to take the final token from the board.
"I don't really think I should play. I'm only going to be a handicap," Steve said to the group in general.
"You're in luck," Sam said to Steve. "I have spent the entirety of my life collecting random, obscure pieces of knowledge for the sole purpose of being good at trivia games."
The game was cutting it pretty close. Tony and Bruce were of course doing well, and Natasha and Clint had apparently picked up a lot from all of their travelling around the world, but in the end it was the girl from the small town in Indiana who was wiping the floor with them almost singlehandedly. Thanks to some rather good rolls Sam and Steve had rounded the board quickly, and Sam did have a pretty odd knack for knowing the answers to almost every question. So much so that Tony had accused her of cheating and had confiscated everyone's phones so that they couldn't google the answers. Steve had actually been helpful in both sports and politics, two areas where Sam wasn't the best.
"Trouble he will find you no matter where you go, oh oh," Lenka's lyrics to 'Trouble is a Friend' rang out through the living room just as Sam and Steve were up for the last move between them and winning the game.
"That's my phone. It's Amber calling," Sam said as she got up to get her phone from the pile in the corner.
"Hey, it's your turn," Tony complained.
"Hey Amber, what's up," Sam asked as she ignored Tony. She paused as she listened to the other girl speak and the team watched her face go from smiling and happy to freaked out.
"Run to a neighbor's house and wait for me there," Sam said urgently into the phone as she grabbed one of Natasha's guns that were sitting on a side table. The other Avengers were on alert now and stood but before anyone could ask what was happening Sam had dropped her phone and disappeared, teleporting to where ever it was she was needed.
"Amber," Natasha said into the dropped phone, "are you still there? What's going on?" She couldn't make out much from the other end of the phone. It appeared that while she hadn't hung up she must not have had it to her ear. The rest of the Avengers were about to go suit up. No one could get into contact with Sam because her phone was obviously still here. Steve was going to yell at her for that when she got back.
They only had to wait a few minutes before Sam reappeared this time with Amber and two cats in tow. Amber promptly sat down on the couch. She appeared a little pale, but otherwise fine.
"What's going on," Steve asked.
Sam took a deep breath. "Someone has been in our house. They were gone when I got there, probably before Amber got there. They've been watching me for a while, apparently. It's not just some break in."
Instead of explaining more, she decided it would be better to take some of the team there. Pepper and Bruce were taking care of Amber, and Tony decided to stay back while Sam took Steve, Clint, and Natasha with her as they all held on. They realized part of why Amber looked so out of sorts. For a few seconds they were squeezed through blackness and felt like they couldn't breathe. There was no solid ground beneath them. Then the sensation stopped and they looked around at Sam's house.
They were in the kitchen, and all of the lights were on. What Steve saw made him hold his breath. Covering the walls were hundreds of pictures of Sam. Some of them looked like Sam was aware of the picture being taken, while others were candid shots. There were all different types: her going jogging, pictures in formal wear from prom, ones where she looked like she was hanging out with friends. They steadily progressed in age from a small child into one of the more recent ones, Sam and Steve dancing together at the benefit. That picture unnerved him the most, because he had been present and unaware it was taken.
Sam held up a bouquet of flowers. "Amber said this was waiting by the front door when she got home. It has a tag in it."
Natasha stepped forward and read the tag out loud. ''Every breath you take, every move you make, every bond you break, every step you take, I'll be watching you.'' It was a quote from the song 'Every Breath You Take' by Police, written in red ink. Steve was unfamiliar with the song, but he got a terrible feeling just hearing the lyrics read out loud.
Steve and Clint looked around the house more to search for anything else out of place while Sam and Natasha went upstairs to grab a few things, clothes and such, for Amber. When they were done Sam dared to peek into her room. It looked untouched, but she couldn't see it the same, knowing that some stranger could have walked in here and gone through her things. This wasn't supposed to happen. Amber was locking her door without Sam there, she knew self defense…and Sam was Sam. This shouldn't have happened.
Back at the tower several hours later they were all assembled around a table in a meeting room. Pepper had given Amber her own suite to stay at while she was there, and it was just a couple of doors down from Sam's. Amber was currently in there with the cats, who no one objected to boarding given the current situation. Some of the pictures of Sam were spread out on the table, as well as the bouquet of flowers with the card.
"SHIELD has already stationed agents in the area to watch your parents and sister," Natasha told Sam. "They'll keep an eye out while staying back. They won't know a thing." Sam nodded at this. It was important that no one knew, especially since Amber was the only person that knew about her double life.
"What about Amber's parents? They're just as close to me, and obviously this person knows it," Sam said as she looked at the pictures on the table. One of the closest ones was of Sam and Amber in graduation caps and gowns posing with Amber's parents.
"We can have them watched too. I'll make sure of it," Natasha said. "You should go get some sleep. There's nothing more that we can do tonight." She had been watching Sam closely all night. Natasha had seen a lot of good agents who were really affected once things became personal. To her credit, Sam had a cool, detached air to her that seemed strangely business-like. She would almost buy it, except for the fact that Sam normally was much less serious about things.
Sam looked like she was about to protest, but gave up once she looked around the table. Everyone looked like they would back Natasha up, and she didn't think it was likely they would continue to focus on this if she stayed there. She retreated to her floor, where she stopped by Amber's room and knocked on the door before entering.
"Hey, I just came to check on you," Sam said. "You have everything you need?"
Amber, for her part, seemed at ease as she played with the cats. "Yep. It's gonna suck trying to worry about school and all with this." They had already decided that Sam would take her back and forth to classes and her job. Amber was not going to go back to the house, or anywhere else but the Avengers tower, until this was fully resolved. Sam was adamant about that. No one argued with her on that.
"I think I'm going to quit my job," Amber stated. Sam immediately felt guilty.
"You don't have to do-," Sam started to object.
"No, it's fine. They weren't giving me enough hours anyway. Depending on how long I stay here, I might just take a break or find a job here."
"Well, you don't need to worry about rent or food or anything. And if you want spending money, you can take it from me," Sam said. "I owe you."
"None of this is-"
"From when your parents took me in," Sam clarified. Amber couldn't argue there, and they talked for a bit before Sam said good night and went to her own room.
As soon as the door was shut Sam nearly collapsed. This was one of the worst nights, the worst night, of her life. To think that someone could have come close to hurting her friend, hurting her….it shook her. It was never supposed to get that personal.
Steve hesitated out in the hallway before doubling back to Sam's door and knocking. He just wanted to check on her before he went to bed; he didn't think he would be able to sleep without it.
"Hey Steve," Sam said with a fake smile. He saw that her eyes were too watery, and the smile she had was only half hearted. She held the door open and he walked in.
"I just came to check on you," he said.
"I'm fine," Sam said before collapsing on the couch in the sitting room and holding her face in her hand. "Wow. That was probably the worst attempt at lying I have ever made."
Steve sat down next to her and put his hand on her knee.
"It's just, this person, whoever they are, has been watching me for years. Imagine how much they know. That's not even the worst part. They were doing all of this before I was even a target. When no one had any idea who I was, when it made no sense for them to be watching me," Sam said.
"I know. But you're not alone. We're all here for you, and we'll help. You're part of a team now," Steve said.
"They got so close tonight, to everything I care about, to someone I love. And that scares me," Sam admitted in a whisper.
Steve was silent for a moment before he said anything. "I've never been good at talking to women, so I'm just going to say it. When we were dancing last night, I was the happiest I've been in a very long time. I'm not good at anything to do with relationships or feelings, but when I look at you, I want to keep you safe and happy. Believe me; I will keep you safe and happy."
Steve stood up and summoned the courage to plant a kiss on her forehead before he headed for the door. He felt completely exposed, saying his feelings so openly. It was something he had never done before.
He was almost to the door when he heard Sam say, "Stay." Steve turned around to see Sam standing in the middle of the room and staring at him. Her voice had been quiet, but he heard it.
"Please. Just stay with me," Sam said in the same small voice as her eyes spilled over with tears. Steve walked back to her and wrapped his arms around her. It was a hundred times better than when they had danced. It was closer, more intimate.
They sat up for a while and talked on the couch in Sam's room. Sam was lying on the sofa while leaning against Steve as they held hands. They talked about Sam's parents when they got their divorce, her moving in to Amber's parents' house for part of their junior and senior years at school, her sister's various problems with the law. Steve realized there were two very different sides to Sam. There was the funny, strong Sam that the team knew, and then there was this more vulnerable side to Sam that she only let a few people see. Steve could relate.
"Do you ever miss them? The people you used to know," Sam asked after a pause in the conversation. Then she noticed the look in Steve's eyes. "I'm sorry, that question was too personal. You don't have to answer that."
"No, it's fine. I miss them a lot, sometimes. Things were very different then. It's so odd for me to think of what only happened a year ago for me, knowing that it happened seventy years ago. I do miss them. But this is where I am now, and it's not a bad place to be either. There are a lot of people that I'm glad to have met, especially now," Steve smiled at her.
The conversation started to lull into a comfortable silence. Finally, Sam fell asleep curled up against Steve. Instead of letting her sleep, he gently picked her up and carried her to bed. He pulled the covers around her and whispered "good night, Sam," as he turned off the lights and quietly left.
It was the second time in two days that Sam had fallen asleep with a smile on her face.
A/N: Did you cry? I cried a little. It hit me right in the feels. Poor Sam. Steve will make you feel better. God, I just want their romance. It's so adorable. I apologize for all of the deep feelings, I promise it's not completely dark from here on out. I think they make this story a hell of a lot more legitimate, but it's still going to keep it's light and fluffy parts.